Back to the Roots: 500 drawings from the collection of the Dresden Museum of Ethnology are temporarily returning to their place of origin, Ningbo, China, for an exhibition. Through November 1, the Ningbo Museum in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang is presenting so-called “export paintings” from the Dresden museum’s collection. The colorful brush drawings are part of a body of work that is now virtually impossible to find in China itself, according to the museum.
Cooperation between Dresden and Partners in China
The current exhibition is part of a collaboration that began last year between the Dresden State Art Collections (SKD) and partners in Ningbo. The albums are to be digitized and cataloged as part of this project. SKD Director General Bernd Ebert will attend the exhibition opening and plans to sign a cooperation agreement with the Palace Museum in Beijing afterward.
“The presentation of the Dresden collection in Ningbo offers the SKD the opportunity to give something back to Chinese society—something that was lost locally and represents an important cultural-historical source,” Ebert emphasized.
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